An improved roof mirror assembly is provided. The roof mirror assembly of the invention is comprised of first and second mirror panels comprising first and second reflective surfaces and first and second mounting surfaces, respectively, the first and second mirror panels being joined together so that the first and second reflective surfaces are substantially perpendicular to each other. The assembly further comprising at least one mounting block comprising at least one opening extending through a portion thereof and at least one mounting pin received within the at least one opening of the at least one mounting block, wherein the at least one mounting pin is attached within the opening to the at least one mounting block and is attached to at least one of the first or second mounting surfaces of the first or second mirror panels. In an embodiment not having the mounting pins, the mirror panels each comprise first and second ends, wherein the first ends of the mirror panels are proximate to each other and the second ends of the mirror panels are proximate to each other when the mirror panels are in their joined condition, and the at least one mounting block is attached to the first ends of the mirror panels, and the assembly is mounted onto another structure along a bottom surface of the at least one mounting block.
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1. A roof mirror assembly, comprising:
first and second mirror panels comprising first and second reflective surfaces and first and second mounting surfaces, respectively, wherein each of said first and second mounting surfaces are substantially perpendicular to each of said first and second reflective surfaces, and wherein said first and second mirror panels being joined together so that said first and second reflective surfaces are substantially perpendicular to each other;
at least one mounting block comprising at least one opening extending through a portion thereof; and
at least one mounting pin received within said at least one opening of said at least one mounting block, wherein said at least one mounting pin is attached within said opening to said at least one mounting block and is attached to at least one of said first or second mounting surfaces of said first or second mirror panels.
14. A roof mirror assembly, comprising:
first and second mirror panels comprising first and second reflective surfaces and first and second mounting surfaces, respectively, said first and second mirror panels being joined together so that said first and second reflective surfaces are substantially perpendicular to each other;
at least one mounting block comprising at least one opening extending through a portion thereof; and
at least one mounting pin having a length and a cross-sectional diameter along said entire length that is sized to be able to be received within said at least one opening of said at least one mounting block, wherein said at least one mounting pin is attached using adhesive material within said opening to said at least one mounting block and further wherein said at least one mounting pin is attached using adhesive material directly to at least one of said first or second mounting surfaces of said first or second mirror panels.
25. A roof mirror assembly, comprising:
first and second mirror panels comprising first and second reflective surfaces and first and second mounting surfaces, respectively, said first and second mirror panels being joined together so that said first and second reflective surfaces are substantially perpendicular to each other;
at least one mounting block comprising at least one opening extending through a portion thereof, wherein said first and second mirror panels and said at least one mounting block are formed of the same material; and
at least one mounting pin having a length and a cross-sectional diameter along said entire length that is sized to be able to be received within said at least one opening of said at least one mounting block, wherein said at least one mounting pin is attached within said opening to said at least one mounting block and further wherein said at least one mounting pin is attached directly to at least one of said first or second mounting surfaces of said first or second mirror panels.
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This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/894,207, filed Jun. 28, 2001, issued May 4, 2004 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,729,735, which application is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
This invention relates to the field of retroreflectors, and more particularly, to lateral transfer retroreflectors and roof mirror assemblies.
Retroreflectors generally have the property of causing incident and reflected light rays to travel along parallel paths. To achieve this parallelism, a retroreflector normally consists of three optically flat reflecting surfaces, each reflecting surface positioned at a right angle to each of the other reflecting surfaces. Any departure of the reflecting surfaces from their perpendicular orientation will cause the incident and reflected light rays to depart from parallel.
Retroreflectors lose accuracy when they are exposed to external stresses. Examples of such external stresses are mass, thermal expansion or contraction of the substrate material from which the retroreflector is made, or deflection caused by curing of the adhesives which join members of the retroreflector.
A roof mirror assembly is an optical assembly consisting of two mirror panels having their reflective surfaces arranged at substantially right angles to each other. Often, a roof mirror is used in association with another single mirror panel offset from the roof mirror assembly. In such a configuration, the reflective surface of the single mirror panel is arranged to be at a substantially right angle to each of the reflective surfaces of the roof mirror assembly. Such an overall optical device is normally called a lateral transfer retroreflector because the three substantially perpendicular reflective surfaces of the three mirror panels (two from the roof mirror and the one, single panel) are essentially arranged in the formation of a retroreflector assembly, but with one of the mirror panels (the single panel) of the retroreflector assembly offset a lateral distance from the other two mirror panels (the roof mirror).
Accordingly, there has been significant development of retroreflectors/roof mirrors/lateral transfer retroreflectors that focus on the precision of the alignment of the reflective panels of these assemblies, so as to achieve the greatest degree of parallelism possible of the incident and reflected rays. When striving to construct a very accurate retroreflector/roof mirror/lateral transfer retroreflector assembly, attention will be given to reducing the external stresses that cause deflection of the reflective surfaces of the individual mirror panels upon joining the mirror panels together. Examples of such external stresses are mass, thermal expansion or contraction of the substrate material from which the mirror panels are made, or deflection caused by curing of the adhesives which join the mirror panels together or adhere the mirror panels to their supporting members.
Examples of some of these prior art retroreflectors, roof mirror assemblies and lateral transfer retroreflectors, are:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,977,765 to Morton S. Lipkins, which disclosed a retroreflector mounted to a support structure through means of applying a small amount of adhesive into the joints formed between joined members of the retroreflector and to a flat surface of the support structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,065,204, also to Morton S. Lipkins, which disclosed a lateral transfer retroreflector consisting of a base, a roof reflector having two reflecting plates and a third reflector. The base acts as an extension of the third reflector by attaching the third reflector to the roof reflector in the manner known to retroreflectors to produce the lateral transfer retroreflector construction.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,514 to Zvi Bleier and Morton S. Lipkins, which disclosed a lateral transfer retroreflector having a roof mirror of a particular construction and attached to the underlying lateral transfer member through use of three co-planar mounting pads.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,171 to Zvi Bleier, disclosed a lateral transfer retroreflector having a particular and different roof mirror construction than that shown in the '514 patent.
It would be desirable to provide a high-accuracy lateral transfer retroreflector that is off-the-shelf adjustable as to the displaced length between the mirror panel and the roof mirror and also having a less temperature-deviant assembly and mounting of the roof mirror and mirror panel.
It would be further desirable to provide still further constructions for a high-accuracy roof mirror assembly to be used in lateral transfer retroreflector assemblies and other optical assemblies, whereby the roof mirror assembly is a separately constructed and assembled unit that maintains the reflective surfaces of its two mirror panels in as near perpendicular orientation as possible, while allowing assembly of this roof mirror assembly to such other structure without substantially affecting the alignment of the reflective panels of the roof mirror assembly.
In accordance with the invention, an improved roof mirror assembly is provided. The roof mirror assembly of the invention is comprised of first and second mirror panels comprising first and second reflective surfaces and first and second mounting surfaces, respectively, the first and second mirror panels being joined together so that the first and second reflective surfaces are substantially perpendicular to each other. The assembly further comprising at least one mounting block comprising at least one opening extending through a portion thereof and at least one mounting pin received within the at least one opening of the at least one mounting block, wherein the at least one mounting pin is attached, preferably using adhesive material, within the opening to the at least one mounting block and is attached to at least one of the first or second mounting surfaces of the first or second mirror panels. In one embodiment, the first and second mirror panels and the at least one mounting block may be formed of the same material. In one embodiment, the material has dimensional stability with respect to changes in temperature. In one embodiment, the material is one of fused quartz or annealed pyrex. In an embodiment not having the mounting pins, the mirror panels each comprise first and second ends, wherein the first ends of the mirror panels are proximate to each other and the second ends of the mirror panels are proximate to each other when the mirror panels are in their joined condition, and the at least one mounting block is attached to the first ends of the mirror panels, and the assembly is mounted onto another structure along a bottom surface of the at least one mounting block.
In addition, the roof mirror assembly and the mirror panel mounting are, in a preferred embodiment, kinematic structures that are also improvements over earlier constructions. In particular, the roof mirror assembly of the subject invention has, in a preferred, but not required, embodiment, at least a pair of mounting blocks that act also as back supports and are located substantially at opposite ends of the roof mirror. However, the invention also anticipates the roof mirror assembly having only at least one mounting member. The manner of attachment of the mounting blocks to the back portions of the mirror panels making up the roof mirror assembly, is such that expansion and contraction of the reflective surfaces of the mirror panels of the roof mirror assembly will be in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of the roof angle axis. Deflection in this direction helps to minimize displacement (error) of the transmitted light beam traveling through the lateral transfer retroreflector. Similarly, the mounting of the mirror panel to the mirror panel housing by means of substantially 45° chamfered edges, insures that the forces exerted by thermal expansion or contraction of the bonding material situated along those chamfered edges, will have a canceling effect, and not deflect the reflective surface of the mirror panel.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved lateral transfer retroreflector assembly and an improved roof mirror assembly.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a lateral transfer retroreflector assembly having a component construction capable of allowing for off-the-shelf customization for different customer needs based upon differing customer specifications.
Yet a further object of the invention is to provide a lateral transfer retroreflector assembly having a roof mirror assembly construction and mounting such that deformations in the reflective surfaces of the mirror panels of the roof mirror assembly due to thermal expansion/contraction are minimized in the direction of the roof angle axis.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a lateral transfer retroreflector assembly, wherein the deflective forces exerted on the mirror panel by thermal expansion or contraction of the joint bonding the mirror panel to the mirror panel housing, are minimized.
Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the following description taken in association with the figures.
The invention accordingly comprises an assembly possessing the features, properties and relation of components which will be exemplified in the products hereinafter described, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.
For a fuller understanding of the invention, reference is made to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring to
As seen in
Continuing with the above discussion, the dimensional congruity between the size of aperture 32 and the cross sectional diameter of member 90 will insure that a light beam passing through LTR 10 will propagate through member 90 very close to the inside surface of member 90 as the beam approaches either of ends 33 or 35 of aperture 32.
It is also seen in
Turning now to
Continuing with
Turning now to a discussion of a first embodiment of a roof mirror assembly of the invention, attention is first directed to roof mirror assembly 100 of
Mirror panels 102 and 112 have reflective surfaces 104 and 114, respectively, which reflective surfaces are in reflective relation with reflective surface 40 of mirror panel 34, as well as member 90 and aperture 32, when roof mirror assembly 100 is secured within roof mirror housing 60 of LTR 10. Each of mirror panels 102 and 112 also has aback portion 116 and 106, respectively. In particular, reflective surface 104 is substantially perpendicularly oriented to reflective surface 114, and reflective surface 40 is itself oriented substantially perpendicularly to both reflective surfaces 104 and 114. This mutually perpendicular orientation of the three reflective surfaces of LTR 10 essentially duplicates the construction of a standard Hollow™ retroreflector as is known in the art, except that reflective surface 40 is offset a distance from reflective surfaces 104 and 114.
Continuing with the roof mirror assembly embodiment of
Continuing with a discussion of
As is further seen in
Turning again to
Turning now to a discussion of
Directing attention now to the embodiment of a roof mirror assembly as shown in
Continuing with a discussion of
As is further seen in
As with the earlier embodiment of
Directing attention now to the embodiment of a roof mirror assembly as shown in
Continuing with a discussion of
As is further seen in
In this embodiment of the roof mirror assembly, mounting blocks 540 and 560 are attached to protruding elements 530 and 520 through openings in the mounting blocks and mounting pins 550 attached within the openings and also attached to the protruding elements receiving surfaces. In particular, in the particular embodiment of the roof mirror shown in
As with the earlier embodiment of
Finally,
As with the earlier embodiments, roof mirror assembly 600 is secured to roof mirror assembly housing 60 by way of connection between bottom surfaces of the mounting block(s) (for example, bottom surface 661) to member 70 of housing 60. Such a secure connection of roof mirror assembly 600 to housing 60 helps to assist and strengthen the durability of LTR 10. Further, and as an alternate manner of attaching assembly 600 to housing 60, in addition to the mounting blocks there can exist an optional back plate member (similar to that found at 302, not shown in this embodiment), adhered below the mounting block(s) to the bottom surfaces (for example, 661). Such an element would preferably be made of the same material as the mounting blocks so as to reduce differences in the coefficient of expansion/contraction.
The end-mounted block construction of
Regarding connecting member 90, as has been stated, this member can be cut from an off-the-shelf member of standard construction and length. Such an off-the-shelf retro-fit of connecting member 90 allows one to stock separate quantities of housings 20 and 60, and member 90, for construction of an LTR 10 to meet any customer specifications, in a quick and cost affective manner.
It is also anticipated herein that the mounting pin construction of
Unless otherwise expressly indicated, when used throughout this document the term “substantially” shall have the meaning of “approximation”, not “magnitude”; i.e., it shall have the meaning, “being largely but not wholly that which is specified.” See, Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., 1989.
Further, unless otherwise expressly indicated, when used throughout this document the term “block” is not meant to be restricted to a standard rectangularly shaped member, but is meant to cover a broad range of shapes having a broad range of integrities, as for example, solid, hollow, partially solid, etc. In addition, various constructions of the mounting block are anticipated herein.
It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained, and, since certain changes may be made in the above constructions without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language might be said to fall therebetween.
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Apr 29 2004 | BLEIER, ZVI | PLX, INC | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 015557 | /0093 | |
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